INVESTORS SEEKING HIGHER IRA YIELDS

Murray Moshe of Plantation could no longer sit back and watch his individual retirement account earn interest rates of 7 percent in a certificate of deposit. So when $3,000 of IRA certificates came up for renewal recently, he cashed them in and put the money where he thinks he'll earn more -- with a stock brokerage.

Randelle Kagan, also of Plantation, handed over her 1985 IRA contribution to a stockbroker to be invested in corporate bonds. While her new investment is earning 12 percent interest at the stock brokerage, her 1984 IRA contributions are earning about 8 percent in a CD at a bank. And she's seriously thinking of rolling them over to the stock brokerage. "Just like grocery shopping, you have to shop around for the best prices," Kagan said.

April 15 -- the last day to contribute to an IRA that would reap tax benefits for the 1985 tax year -- is nearly here. But already the main trend in IRAs this year is obvious: Contributors are changing more frequently from bank certificates of deposit to brokerage accounts and mutual funds.

And the IRA contributors' switch has led more banks and thrifts to begin offering self-directed accounts and their own brokerage options.

Many IRA contributors are being lured away from low CD interest rates by the dazzling performance of the stock market.

It's "the biggest story" of the year for the industry, according to Karen Imhoff, managing editor of The I.R.A. Reporter in Cleveland.

But it also reflects the growing sophistication of the IRA contributor whose investment education has broadened each year since 1982 when IRAs were opened to all wage earners.

At the end of 1985, the nation's IRAs totaled $204.5 billion, with banks and savings and loans holding 28.5 percent and 24 percent respective shares of the market, according to Imhoff.

Both saw a slight drop from 1984, when banks held 30.4 percent of the market and thrifts had 24.8 percent.

Both mutual funds and stock brokerages saw an increase in their market shares. Mutual funds had 14.2 percent of the market, and stock brokerages and self-directed accounts had 14.7 percent at the end of 1985, according to The I.R.A. Reporter. In 1984 the respective shares were 11.3 percent and 13.6 percent.

"A lot of things are changing," said David Waxman, a vice president and financial planner at Prudential Bache in Plantation. IRA contributors started switching from CDs to stock brokerages and mutual funds last year, he said.

"It has taken the average investor at least that time to realize they (interest rates) were coming lower than expected. Many were accustomed to higher rates. They put off committing themselves in many cases and have seen interest rates come down," said Waxman.

The alternatives to CDs that investors have chosen for their IRAs are mostly mutual funds -- and mostly government funds.

"Last year alone," said Waxman, "75 percent of all mutual fund investments went into government securities. We'll see more of that."

And, he added, "That money's coming directly out of banks."

Waxman contends that many bankers have resigned themselves to the idea that they can't compete with mutual funds -- and they have begun concentrating on refinancing mortgages.

But The I.R.A. Reporter's Imhoff thinks instead that more banks and thrifts are trying to stay in the running.

"Many banks are offering self-directed IRAs, and they're promoting them a lot more than in the past -- along with brokerage options," Imhoff said.

"The number of banks starting them up was phenomenal. And the banks that did have the programs in previous years did not promote them aggressively -- and this year they are."

IRAs were set up to encourage workers to save for retirement.

All wage earners who are younger than 70 1/2 can contribute up to $2,000, or 100 percent of wages, whichever is less, to an IRA each year. Married couples with only one working spouse can contribute up to $2,250.

Taxes on IRA contributions and interest are deferred until the IRAs are withdrawn -- which cannot be before the age of 59 1/2 without penalty. The contributor takes an IRA contribution right off the top of his income, lessening taxable income and the amount of taxes that must be paid that year.